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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Lower trophic levels and detrital biomass control the Bay of Biscay continental shelf food web: Implications for ecosystem management
Progress in Oceanography, Volume 91, No. 4, Year 2011
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Description
The Bay of Biscay (North-East Atlantic) has long been subjected to intense direct and indirect human activities that lead to the excessive degradation and sometimes overexploitation of natural resources. Fisheries management is gradually moving away from single-species assessments to more holistic, multi-species approaches that better respond to the reality of ecosystem processes. Quantitative modelling methods such as Ecopath with Ecosim can be useful tools for planning, implementing and evaluating ecosystem-based fisheries management strategies. The aim of this study was therefore to model the energy fluxes within the food web of this highly pressured ecosystem and to extract practical information required in the diagnosis of ecosystem state/health. A well-described model comprising 30 living and two non-living compartments was successfully constructed with data of local origin, for the Bay of Biscay continental shelf. The same level of aggregation was applied to primary producers, mid-trophic-levels and top-predators boxes. The model was even more general as it encompassed the entire continuum of marine habitats, from benthic to pelagic domains. Output values for most ecosystem attributes indicated a relatively mature and stable ecosystem, with a large proportion of its energy flow originating from detritus. Ecological network analysis also provided evidence that bottom-up processes play a significant role in the population dynamics of upper-trophic-levels and in the global structuring of this marine ecosystem. Finally, a novel metric based on ecosystem production depicted an ecosystem not far from being overexploited. This finding being not entirely consistent over indicators, further analyses based on dynamic simulations are required. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Lassalle, Géraldine
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Lobry, Jérémy
France, Paris
Inrae
Le Loc'h, François
France, Marseille
Ird Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement
Bustamante, Paco
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Certain, G.
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Norway, Bergen
Havforskningsinstituttet
Delmas, D.
France, Plouzane
Ifremer Institut Francais de Recherche Pour L'exploitation de la Mer
Dupuy, C.
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Hily, Christian
France, Plouzane
Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer Iuem
Labry, C.
France, Plouzane
Ifremer Institut Francais de Recherche Pour L'exploitation de la Mer
Le Pape, Olivier
France, Rennes
Université Européenne de Bretagne
Marquis, E.
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Taiwan, Taipei
Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University
Petitgas, Pierre
France, Plouzane
Ifremer Institut Francais de Recherche Pour L'exploitation de la Mer
Pusineri, Claire
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Mayotte
Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage
Ridoux, Vincent
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Spitz, J.
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Niquil, Nathalie
France, La Rochelle
La Rochelle Université
Statistics
Citations: 103
Authors: 16
Affiliations: 9
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.pocean.2011.09.002
ISSN:
00796611
Research Areas
Food Security
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative